The Last of the Lion's Heart
by Xain Vandel
Summary: In the Darkness of Leon's heart, a world appears to consume him whole. If Cloud and Sora can't stop him from destroying himself. Then be afraid, nothing will. Crass humor throughout, blood and gore.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Darkness, silent darkness. That is what our two heroes flow through. The silent space outside the gummiship,the annoying boinks, and twangs of the cartoony engine as it is piloted by an equally annoying driver. Sora. Cloud was in the passenger seat mulling over the last thing his friend told him before he abandoned them. "I can hear her calling Cloud, I can hear her clear as day." Leon said, arms crossed, one foot flat against the wall he was leaning on.

Cloud sitting on a crate across from him in the small alleyway of traverse town, holding the grip of his buster sword, still wrapped in medical bandages. His black apparel, with the one sleeve made him almost invisible in that dark alleyway, all except that chocobo colored head of hair. "Who is calling out to you, and how?" Cloud said without emotion, trying not to show much interest, for his mind was always on a one track mile of vengeance.

"Rinoa is calling Cloud. I don't where, or how; but she is calling me, summoning me." Leon said now starring at Cloud, showing him how severe this was. "I don't know what to do. Stay here and keep fighting the heartless; day in ,day out. I know this world needs me, but it's Rinoa. I-I can't help it." A small tear trekked down his young face. "I want to stop the heartless, but I can't let this go by. If there is the slightest chance of saving her, of recovering her heart from the darkness. Then I'm gonna take it!" Leon said sternly as he walked away from that alleyway, gunblade in hand.

That was the last Cloud had seen of him. After that, a panic arose, their leader abandoned his post, robbed Cid of his ship and had taken off into the night. Now here Cloud and Sora were floating along, following the signal of the homing beacon on Leon's ship. It was far off, farther off the same winds of space Sora normally navigated through. He felt a little hollow inside, Goofy and Donald needed to go back and help with the reconstruction of the Disney Castle. So Sora was the only available warrior to undertake this mission. He was happy to have Cloud accompany him, even though he was mostly quiet and kept to himself. Sora, would constantly try to strike up a conversation, but it was in vain. Cloud only answered in sighs, in shrugs, and in silence. Then Sora asked the right question. "Why did Leon leave? We needed his help, all of his friends are there, so why would he leave so unexpectedly?"

Cloud, knew he needed to inform Sora of Leon's last words. Being paired up with him meant he needed to secure his trust, like any other quest. "Leon is having delusions" Cloud said calmly with an undertone of disappointment.

"What?" Sora said in shock. "So he's not himself?"

"No, he is himself. The same, dreary guy I met long ago." Cloud Scoffed, "I have really bad feeling about this. Squall is either crazy, or there is something out there trying to devour his heart. Either way, its not gonna be good Sora."

Sora puzzled over how Leon could have just abandoned his friends so easily, thinking of all the unforgettable relationships he had discovered over all the worlds he had helped. "Cloud, would you have imagined this happening?"

"Yes, Sora." Cloud said indifferently. "The moment he said he was hearing Rinoa I knew how bad it was. He tried acting like the leader when he told me if he 'had the slightest chance of saving her' he would take it. It isn't surprising, which is why its only you and I going after him. No one else wants to stop him."

"Rinoa?" Sora said as he laid his hands behind his head and rested his spiky brown hair among them.

"Rinoa is Leon's long lost love. He failed to save her when radiant gardens turned into a breeding ground for the heartless. It destroyed him, and yet it made him the cold, calm leader we have today. Yet, he died a little inside. He was never the same after she was swallowed by the darkness. He is friendly, but he has never learned to love another, especially after the nights of being alone without her."

"Wow, I never knew." Sora said timidly.

"No one has the nerve to say it in front of Leon, so after a while we all stopped talking about her, and some of us have even forgotten her existence completely. So don't feel horrible about it, how could have known Leon is clawing at his own heart all this time. He does a good job of hiding it."

After Cloud finally said his bit, Sora felt silence was a welcomed tone from both of them. He was intrigued by the history of his good friend, for he never really asked what their lives had been before the heartless. What trials they faced, what enemies they overcame, what love they had known before their worlds were consumed.

Then a blue shadow appeared and a giant rift in space opened. Within this small expanse of the universe was a planet. It was dark and obscure being in the shadow of every sun. The duo nodded at each other as the signal was successfully traced to the ominous realm beyond the fabric of time and space.

The two heroes stepped on the solid cold ground. Cloud looked forward, entranced. All the while Sora hopped from the side of the small cliff to the other, looking at the worn torn ground about them. There pillars smashed and fallen, and a large white lighthouse in the back ground, even though it was inactive in reminded him of home. Then with the childish gleam in his fading as he saw the bodies of people in the waves, and on the shore, and around the pillars. He was so caught off guard by the horrendous bloodshed he almost vomited. He tugged on Cloud's sleeve, but the soldier was unresponsive. Sora walked in front of him and looked into the green glowing eyes as they were stricken with woe. Then he traced the stare and gazed at the same terrifying spectacle before them.

A giant castle, of the most Gothic design and horrific appearance. Lighting struck as the winds made a maelstrom crown around the apex of its structure. A giant chain was suspended from the castle to the small cliff where Sora and Cloud stood. "This, is the darkness of Leon's heart. The gloomy reflection of his soul. There is no way this can end well Sora."


	2. Chapter 2

Here is Chapter two, I haven't played Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy VIII and VII in a while, so most of this is just recalling from memory; but I have played through and kicked ass in all three so this isn't out of nowhere. This whole story is really a wish that Kingdom Hearts would have a Final Fantasy world. I know that wouldn't be easy to create, but still, power to player right? Hope you enjoy my daydream turned story.

Xain Vandel

Chapter Two

Roars, dreadful roars cascade from somewhere high in the castle. The bang and clang of the gunblade maiming its foes, gave Leon a malicious ecstasy. He had not had the pleasure of vengeance, or the elation of saving Rinoa, for a long, long time. He could almost feel her presence, he could almost hear her pulse behind her soft words speaking, "Help me Squall." His lust for her and his lust for vengeance made him a berserker of insurmountable power and speed. The heartless came wave after wave, encircling him on a bridge over a cold icy river below. They were only slowing him down, he needed to press forward. So he roared, and roared with a lion behind his heart - alone.

A loud squeak and a little yelp signaled a face-palm to Cloud. He looked over his shoulder coolly to see Sora dangling on the edge of the massive chain. With one arm Cloud picked his little companion up and set him down on the flat side of the notch. Cloud tried to ignore the insolent mistake of wearing intensely goofy-ass shoes to cross a giant slippery chain. Even though he put up a hard front, he lost it when Sora almost slipped off the edge again. "Seriously? Why do even where those clown shoes? It's not like your feet are huge. Those shoes aren't made for traction obviously, so why do you wear them?"

Sora didn't have any answer to justify his goofy-ass shoes. He just stepped very carefully and tried not to let his attention deficit disorder distract him from the mission; but there was no way to quell his childish curiosity. For the two heroes found a set of gates on the side of the chain half way to the castle. Cloud looked at the gates. Each one of them was showing a place or a time. One had a field of flowers stretched out to the horizon, another had giant building with a halo of light around it, one showed a giant pillar of metal hovering over the land. All of them had a scene or a thought, or a memory of Squall Leonhart. Cloud recognized some of them from Leon's stories. Sora only looked at them with amazement. "Are all of these looking into his planet or something?" Sora said gazing into them, examining the details.

"Yes, all of these seem to be places in his memory. This isn't good." Cloud said with great discomfort.

"What it is it now?" Sora asked concerned.

"Portraits of his memory lacing a path to a fragment of his old world. It's a trap by the heartless. Whoever is controlling the heartless is aiming their sights on Leon. This whole place is made to devour him." Cloud said, realizing that it was now not a matter of finding him as much as it was a matter of stopping him from diving into the darkness. "Sora we need to hurry. Jump on my back!" Cloud crouched down as Sora leaped on his back and hung tight to his neck.

Cloud cast haste on himself and began to sprint across the chain, but then as if it was terrifying enough, bats with red heartless signs came out from the wood work. Sora drew the keyblade and started casting fire and blizzard. The duo had to jump on top of a few of the monsters, but the bats were not enough to stop them. Cloud bounced from one bat to another until he landed on the cliffs. Once they were close enough to the large ebony doors, the bats fled. Our duo took a quick breather then entered the castle.

Inside was filled with the empty husks of the heartless. They strewn over all the regal furniture, rails and flooring was either destroyed or covered in bodies. "Damn, he did a number in here." Cloud said surprised at how many heartless lain defeated.

"Maybe the heartless should be worried instead of us?" Sora said with mock indifference, imitating Cloud's persona.

Cloud began to walk around the room, trying to find where Leon had gone. He looked at the different trails of heartless laying around. He found the warmest trail and followed it. It ran through Gothic archways and gargoyle statues, it ran through decrepit dinning rooms and red carpeted hallways, it ran through art rooms and wine cellars, it ran through prisons and armories. From room to room there was a giant creature laid to waste. They had been slashed open and were lying dead. The damage to the castle had gone beyond that of Cloud's Imagination. Leon was tearing this place apart, all by himself.

The castle was huge and as our heroes ran along the trail of darkness, they could hear the clashing and slashing of their friend, battling his way further into the darkness, of his own heart.

The trail had taken the pair of spiky headed guys on quite a goose trail, but after some puzzle solving they reached a fountain at the center of the keep. Here they rested, drinking the crystal clear water and regaining their strength. There was an awkward silence, a mortifying silence that when finally noticed by our heroes, their hearts paused. They imagined Leon must be dead, for they didn't notice the silence for at least a few minutes. Sora took the initiative and started to run into the church that was before them. As Cloud followed the key master into the church, he heard a very subtle note drifting in the air. When he looked past Sora he saw a lady sitting at the organ beginning to play it.

The lady was dressed in black, and she had a horn or two poking out of her head. Her long dark hair, and her pale white skin contrasted in that dimly lit cathedral. The organist began a symphony of the most ambient and darkest nature. The whole room felt like prison, the soldier and the boy began to feel sad, the began to feel gloomy, they began to feel unloved.

Then as if the curtain had been pulled, the organist stood up bowed and dissolved into the air. Sora and Cloud looked at each other with great perplexity. "What just happened," Sora said wiping the new formed dew around his eyes.

"I have no clue, but whatever it is. I hope we never have to experience it again. " Cloud returned.

The unlikely duo walked up the spiral staircase to the floor above, the deterioration of the walls and the steps were causing Sora discomfort. He was beginning to think that this place was going to crumble and fall as he Cloud ascended. The church held, until our heroes reached the bridge. It was the same as the one Leon had been fighting an hour before. The heartless corpses lined the masonry work of the bridge, leading all the way to the door on the opposite side of the chasm.

All was quiet, all was serene. Until an explosion erupted from above. A platform jutting out of the tower wall was ablaze, a beautiful indigo blaze. Cloud looked up and Sora recognized the trigger's clang as it slashed above them. Leon was almost at the top.

They nodded at each other ran across the bridge. The bell began to ring, and as it stroke for the sixth ring, the doors of the church behind them were ripped open and a giant monster leaped from the crumbling cathedral, to the front of the bell tower's entrance. The heroes looked up into the ferocious maw of their foe. The blood red fangs against the deep gray of the beast.

With it's dog like face the creature spoke, "I am the King Behemoth, bloody refuge of lost souls, cosmic power who answers to the one Ultimecia." The giant beast then shook his massive head; with a white mane, like a mohawk stretching back to its shoulder blades.

"The King Behemoth? Ultimecia who?" Sora said taking out not one, but two keyblades.

The behemoth then gripped the bridge surface with his jet black claws and screamed, "From the heavens cometh!" With his gray skin, a vein like red appeared on around his body and stars began to fall down upon the castle.

"Sora, lets kick this things ass and get going." Cloud said, face steady as stone. The stars began to fall in small groups into the tower, into the river, into ruins of the church. Our heroes were stuck only to move forward, and forward they moved. Cloud ran ahead, the buster sword trailing behind. He swung up and down, side to side, criss-cross. All good strikes on the monsters dog-like face. The gore splashing the stones of the bridge. Cloud withdrew and dodged the falling heavens as best he could, but one struck right next to him, sending flying into the side of the bridge. He stood up and watched as Sora ran around the behemoth and slashed at the back of his mane. His set of clothes had for some reason turned a bright red, and small sparks of red lighting were zapping out of his figure.

Sora fought like he was dancing, round and round, slashing wildly at the back of the behemoth. Then the monster jumped its body forward and stopped. The inertia sent the boy straight into the long dark horns above the behemoth's brow. The massive head jerked up and made a ramp that Sora flew off from. As Sora flew, a giant comet intercepted him and shot him straight ninety degrees in to the bridge near Cloud.

The duo looked at each other and nodded. Synchronized, they ran up and slashed at the beast's face. He shook his horns hitting them off, but not enough to stop them. Cloud ran around and slashed at the paws, while casting haste, so his cuts were becoming fiercer, and swifter than the king could ward. In the meantime, Sora slashed wildly at his head, the keys were not as affective as the buster had been, but they did their part.

The King Behemoth; angered, annoyed, and abhorring our heroes. Stood on his hind legs and slashed at them. Knocking them almost over the edge, as the stars still fell. "I shall snack on your bones puny, insolent humans!" The behemoth roared. The damage was evident, and Sora had lost his red touch, so as Cloud tried to regain his balance, Sora stood up on his goofy-ass shoes and summoned the darkness of the castle. The shade of the clouds wrapped around his body, and made his eyes glow a golden, hollow white.

With gasping breath he frenzied on the king. Blood laced down the red veins on the outside of his body, and eventually the berserk Sora was thrown off and laid near dead at one side of the bridge near the end. "Wow, that was impressive," Cloud said as he gave the kid a small phoenix feather.

"But let me show you how its done." He stood, feet parted, glaring at the monster standing fifty feet tall. "This is the Omnislash."

Cloud ran towards him at lightning speed. Standing, never faltering he unleashed a barrage, in rhythm. Up, down, thrust,up, down, thrust. He repeated the same movement each time as devastating as the last. Then as the monster was beyond weak, beyond help. Cloud jumped in the air and with a grand, heavenly light he slashed down. A flash and Cloud was standing, hunched over his blade, which was now deep in the bridge. The King Behemoth, still as stone before dissolving into dust with the eternal night's breeze.

"Wow." Sora said under his breath. "How did I ever beat these guys?" Was all he could say as he cast cure and walked across what was left of the bridge. The two sat next the door and looked across, as the bell tolled seven. The resonance of the bells shook the whole castle, and with that little bit more the bridge collapsed completely.

"Damn," Cloud said, sitting against the wall recovering. That was fun, Squall must be having a blast.


	3. Chapter 3

Well, this is the final chapter of Leon's fall into darkness. So please review and tell me how good, or how bad the it was. I will continue to write more and more as I have nothing better to do with life right now. So here is the final finish.

The crumbling stones drifted into the icy water below. The night had calmed for a spell, as our two heroes entered the desolate bell tower. Cloud entered, checked his peripheral, "Nothing dangerous so far. So Sora, you didn't know about Rinoa huh?" Cloud asked as they began softly treading the rotten stairs leading to a ladder that ascended the tower's wall.

"No, Leon never said a word to me about her." Sora answered, his goofy-ass shoes creaky along the rotten floor boards.

"Before Radiant Gardens was even established, some of us were from different worlds. Most of them were destroyed, or dying, or sick. So we left them for the promise of a better life, a life in Radiant Gardens." Cloud said in uplifting tone, before the solemn truth came forth, "Squall, Leon, and I are from two different worlds; but we had many things in common. We fought the same kind of battles, we shared similar victories – and defeats. So we always loved to rival one another. He was always a little weaker than me, but he was better at critical moments. We always found a way to level out, except for one thing. One thing drove me to become very jealous. His love for Rinoa. He and Rinoa were made for each other, a perfect match. A princess, and a knight. I didn't have that, I mean I was close to people on and off, but to share something that special - was something I would never experience. I didn't take the time to love someone else, I always put my heart in the shade, and focused on killing Sephiroth."

Cloud stopped as they came to top of the tower. The bell flowing back and forth, as he continued, "Rinoa and him were our favorite couple. Always together, and while around her, Squall smiled. Christ he even laughed from time to time. Squall was still a decent leader of our little group in Radiant Gardens, but he had his moments of being nice, of being social. Not like now, he is much more like the Squall he was before Rinoa, apparently."

"So what happened to her? I've never met her." Sora said sitting at the edge of railing, feet dangling over the edge, head leaning on the banister.

"Well – when Radiant Gardens was consumed by the heartless. Rinoa was taken. At least that is what Squall said. If she was taken, then it was a definite, the darkness took her heart. When someone loses their heart unwillingly, they disappear. Body and soul, only to make more heartless. That is why Squall is here. He didn't protect her when she needed it, and so the knight has returned to lay siege to the castle. If Rinoa is here, Squall will tear out his heart for her return."

"Wow, I never knew Leon, ah, Squall had such a deep past." Sora said disdainfully, as he rose from the edge.

"That is because no one wants Squall to go through it again. He locked himself in his room when we arrived in Traverse Town. He wept for days, he maimed himself, and harmed others. He was destroyed, utterly destroyed." Cloud walked up to the door and peeked out to see a figure waiting on the side of the bridge, weeping. "One not so special day, Squall left his room, demanded to be called Leon and began taking charge of Traverse Town. He changed his clothes, his hair, his attitude. He wasn't Squall anymore, but now – Squall is back, with the same fire I had for my vengeance."

Sora and Cloud walked along the stone bridge leading to a final tower, a single obstacle left. They stopped half way to meet a very angry, very blood thirsty man. His gunbalde in his right hand, twirling, drilling the tip into the bridge, slowly. He was wearing his old half-chest coat; the one without the fur or long sleeves. His cold eyes stared at our heroes with calm vigor. "So you were worried about me?" Squall scoffed.

"I'm just here to stop you from becoming a heartless, one way or the other." Cloud answered

"Whatever," Squall said standing up, looking down the bridge to the end. "I don't want your help-"

"If you you didn't think so, you would have gone ahead when we were fighting below." Cloud, said crossing his arms and leaning the same way Squall was, just to annoy him.

"I wanted to warn you to not interfere, that's all." Squall said leaving the edge of the bridge, and starting for the end. Sora and Cloud closing in behind. The door opened and there sat upon a gilded throne was a lady. A very odd looking woman, with colorful tattoos around her face, legs, ankles, and between her waist and navel. Her blood velvet dress encased her voluptuous form and yet there was an opening from above her private organ, stretching all the way to her shoulders. Her bangs were white, straight, and long; as the back of her hair draped over her spine in dark curls. Then she had a set of horns above her brow, which made the horizon of her head, and her elegant face had golden cat eyes that glared into the soul - into the heart of it's victims.

The strange woman rose and with a wave of her hand, as black wings sprout from her back, and she jumped loftily to the floor. "You are ze ehroes yez?" The sorceress said in an accent unlike any other. "You ave kome for ze gurl yez?" Squall nodded, holding his rage back. "I am ze greet sorceress Ultimecia, you all shall perish."

"Wait, can you repeat that. I honestly didn't understand you." Sora said cupping his hear, as if to hear an accent with more accuracy. Cloud slapped his palm in his face, absolutely disappointed in the logic of his sidekick. Ultimecia sat in silence, thinking the most atrocious thoughts of boiling the stupid child alive. "Please, can you repeat the last thing. Was that your name? Is that what your parents named you or-"

"Enough!" Squall screamed as ran over and began slicing at her. The magic shields she had made were deflecting most of the damage, but Squall then absorbed some of the darkness pooling around her throne, and struck through the defense cutting her dress. Ulitmecia gasped in frustration, sending all sorts of spells at him. Fire, ice,lightning, gravity; nothing seemed to slow Squall's rampage.

"That stupid bastard, he's using Darkside." Cloud said watching it from the side lines, casting cure on his comrade.

"What is Darkside?" Sora said curious as always.

"Darkside is an attack that takes the darkness of the world and slashes it into his enemies from his gunblade. The attack is so powerful, and deadly that it takes away from his very life force. He is essential killing himself to strike through her shields." Cloud said, shocked at how his friend would use that so carelessly.

Sora threw spell after spell at her, but all of the spells came back to hurt him. Ultimecia being of one of the most powerful sorceresses in the universe, made her body resilient to magic, the very fabric of her skin had _reflect_ cast into the molecules. So Squall went full offense, striking her again and again. Small heartless came to her aid, but Sora and Cloud wiped all of them out before they could touch him.

Then, the gunblade pierced through her shields. Plunging the blade into her chest, and pulling the trigger over and over making a gory mess of her celestial throne. Bang! Bang! Bang! Squall pulled the trigger until there was large crevasse dug between her throat and her stomach. "You will give Rinoa back! Now!" The sorceress laughed as her body fell back and folded into time. A rift within reality tore away at the back of her throne and a giant flying monster came forth.

"I am Griever, the protector of the one you seek." The giant lion faced monster said. "You knew when you sacrificed part of your heart to her. That I would protect the girl, and hide her. But in my time, I have seen many of you, some illusions, other, delusions. I can not let you walk into the gate I have made. Only the one, true Leonhart can defeat me!"

Sora pissed his pants in fear. A giant flying lion-man was facing them, calling out to the true Leonhart. The beast was amazing, black tough skin, laced with the same crimson veins as the King Behemoth. Giant, holy wings suspended the guardian in the air. The tail was long, and at its very end there were various spikes, like those of his arms and head, only those that decorated his body were the same blood-red of his outer veins. "Fight me!" Screamed Griever, "Slay me with that gunblade!"

"Is Rinoa ok?" Squall asked desperately.

"Silence! Fight or die, coward!" Answered the belligerent guardian.

Squall screamed as he pored more of his life force into his blade as he slashed away at the beast. Cloud jumped and slashed at the enormous feet. Squall looked over and gave a nod of approval. Sora, pulsed with power as his clothes went from black to blue. He levitated and strafed as he shot dozens of blue sparks of magic across the guardian's chest.

The monster grimaced at the challenge and sliced at those against his legs. Cloud and Squall jumped back and started casting spells to combat the monster. Fire, blizzard, bio, flare, holy; all of them effective, but not as much as slashing away at him. So the final fantasy heroes ran along the side each other and separated as the claws came forth to knock them back. Squall went right running along the dark waters and jumping pillar to pillar. Cloud ran on the side of the left wall, and at the apex of the curve jumped out towards Griever. Both men slashed at the chest as they fought suspended in midair. Griever scowled and cringed at the blood and gore spurting from his own flesh. Then with one great shove he knocked them into the wall behind slashed at them ferociously, breaking pillars and carving the walls out as he struck them.

All the while Sora's blue sparks kept hitting the back and sides of the guardian as he ran circles around him. Griever, annoyed by the pint sized fighter grabbed the kid and crushed him while performing gravija. The dark space magic crush the child even more, and it nailed the other two against the floor. The beast was tired of the oppressive fight and he threw Sora at the pillar near the exit. The broken Sora stood, but he had no strength to carry his key off the ground.

As they struggled to heal and replenish their magic, the guardian used one of his most lethal attacks. "Death, pure death." Said the weary guardian, his power beginning to wain. The moment he said 'death,' a fantasm erupted from the essence of time and slashed at each of the heroes, one at a time. Squall cringed knowing its awful power. The scythe went through him, transparently. Not a scratch on his mortal body. Sora gazed up, yelped in fear, fell on his ass, and tried to crawl away through the now ruined entrance. The scythe flowed through and did him no injury. Cloud watched both of them survive, and began to fear nothing, as the scythe slashed through, it caused an eruption of blood from his chest. Cloud gasped in vain, hoping to stay awake, to stay there consciously.

"Cloud!" Sora screamed as he jumped over and gave him a phoenix down. Cloud awoke, but was too weak to do anything. Sora stood at the entrance and tried to cast cure, urgently trying to rescue his friend.

"That's it. We cannot keep doing this. Tell Cloud I'm sorry." Squall said, standing directly in front of Griever. "Ha, maybe one day you can do this, Sora." Squall, stood still and lhel the revolver-blade in front of him. Little blue tints of light spread from his bosom to the blade, making it glow a light heavenly aqua.

"No, please don't Squall. You can't give whats left of your heart. It'll kill him Sora." Cloud said, coughing crimson mucous.

The gunblade was complete. A blue blade's curves were elegant compared to its original. The revolver had been replaced with a lions front half, and a pair of wings acted as the sight. The glory of seeing his blade was a cost Cloud never wanted him to pay. His heart was now in that last attack. "Don't waste it Squall." Cloud said in subtle, disapproving despair.

"I won't. My finale has always outperformed yours." Squall said smiling back Sora, then looking forward and whispering to his gunblade, "Come on, one last Lion Heart."

The sword roared with passion as he swung it behind his head. A strange light sparked and a colored wind unwrapped him, until he broke out and charged at the guardian. Slashing, with passionate insanity, the lion heart was more and more impressive, landing more hits then the omni-slash. For the finishing blow, Squall stood in front of the battered beast, focusing the might of his soul, for one last strike. He jumped into the air and with a blinding flash, ending behind the beast, with a white line drawn across the chest of the guardian; but it was no line, it was a perfect cleave. An explosion followed that knocked Cloud and Sora against the wall, draining them of their energy.

Squall landed, and then the beast fell forward. On his hands and knees, Griever congratulated his victor with a tenacious roar, then he eroded into dust and was swept out with the gentle night breeze. Squall knelt down to find a ring, with a lion engraved in it. The very same he had given to Rinoa, the last promise he had made to her.

"Squall," a whisper in the wind traveled to only him. He glanced up from the dust of his protector to see the rip in space still open, but now it was viewing a sanctuary. The pink flowers extending out to the very horizon, and her. Yes, Rinoa ran towards him, but she was far into the field, and the rift was closing rapidly. Squall ran with all of his strength. He threw the gunblade down and jumped through the tear in reality. Feeling the warm sun, and hearing her voice; he ran, he sprinted to her. They met half way as he picked her up by the waist and threw her in the air. Sora and Cloud stood up and drew closer, but were too far for the ears of Squall and Rinoa.

Squall held her tightly, and as he held her, he glanced towards his friends. A smile breaking out, and tears starting to flow, as the rift in space closed. They saw the true, Squall Leonhart, a fighter, a lover, a monster, and above all - her knight.

The two heroes looked as the rift closed, each with his different opinion. Cloud smiled, stood, dusted himself off and began to leave. Sora, pissed his pants again, and made a huge fit about all his time and energy wasted. "Why did he drop his gun? Why didn't he grab her and take her back here?"Sora said befuddled. "Why didn't you stop him? Why didn't you even try? Why are you so happy?" Sora said, almost hoarse...almost.

"Look Sora, my only fear is that Squall would turn into a Heartless. He's now in paradise, his heart, and her heart are stuck in a different world, between here, and Kingdom Hearts. There isn't any reason for me to stop a him from being happy. His fight is over. He has his final fantasy. A solitary field of flowers, a girl in his arms, and nothing to fear. Hell if we should ever enjoy something so nice Sora. If we could, we would all take that chance. We would all lose our hearts to find them on the other side, waiting for us."

The stars were all a bright as our heroes looked into the eternal night of Ultimecia's castle.

"Our fight isn't over is it?" Sora said breaking the last cold silence.

"That goes without saying kid." Cloud answered. Then he thought of all the people back home waiting for him, and then he remembered Sephiroth was still out there searching for him. "No, some fights never end Sora. For some of us heroes Sora, that is our final fantasy. To never truly finish our fight. To always seek vengeance, to always find a way back home. We don't know what is final, until the end of our journey. Sora, you have to understand that not all heroes have the same ending. Squall may return, he may not. Either way, he is exactly where he belongs. With her, alone."

"A final fantasy huh?" Sora said grinning. "I wonder what mine will be." Then the night faded out, and all was quiet and serene in that depth of space. The final resting place of Squall, the very last of the Lion Heart.


End file.
